"Doing more exercise with less intensity,"
Arthur Jones believes, "has all but
destroyed the actual great value
of weight training. Something
must be done . . . and quickly."
The New Bodybuilding for
Old-School Results supplies
MUCH of that "something."

This is one of 93 photos of Andy McCutcheon that are used in The New High-Intensity Training to illustrate the recommended exercises.

(Note: This guideline relates back to an experience I had with Arnold Schwarezenegger. Can we ever get enough of Ahrnold, the Governator of Kaleefornia? Whether it's news, politics, gossip, or bodybuilding lore? I doubt it. Let's face it, the man has charisma. I can't, or won't, print Arthur Jones's opinion of Arnold, but you can get an idea of what it is by reading chapter 6 in my new HIT book.)

"Nothing fails like success," I said to Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Because success only reinforces our myths and superstitions."

"Hum, I never thought of it that way," Arnold said, "tell me more."

The date was in the late spring of 1977. Both Arnold and I were to speak that night at the grand opening of a Nautilus fitness center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Arnold had not yet made it big in the movies, but he had certainly reached the top in the bodybuilding world by winning consecutive Mr. Olympia titles from 1970-1975.

In a five-minute conversation on the subject with Arnold, I tried to clue him in on what I meant.

"The only thing we can learn from is failure," I continued. "But to do so, we must recognize what we are doing as a mistake. Then we must correct that mistake."

In the same vein, Arthur Jones once told me, "Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."

It's unfortunate that we have to make mistakes to learn. But apparently we do. Thus, success can often lead us on a path of self-destruction. We must constantly evaluate and reevaluate both our successes and failures.

Success in the bodybuilding world, I noted to Arnold, is usually related to genetics. Sure, you've got to train and you've got to eat. But the best training and eating program still won't turn the local gym bum into Arnold Schwarzenegger. The only way to be Arnold is to have Arnold's parents - and even then there's a high probability that the person still won't grow up to look like Arnold.

Genetics dictate your height, bone structure, muscle cell numbers, and fat storage spots. Most important, however, genetics determine the length of your muscle bellies. A long muscle guarantees that you will have above-average size in that muscle. A short muscle means that that muscle will be below average in size. Both extremely long and extremely short muscles are rare, at least having one or the other exclusively throughout your body is seldom seen.

Sergio Oliva is the foremost example of someone who has very long muscle bellies all over his body. Arnold is similar to Sergio. Examples of men with very short muscle bellies might be Woody Allen and Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens.

Most people, however, do not have long or short muscles. They have average-length to their muscle bellies. And average-length muscle bellies produce average-sized muscles - even after years of training.

So, what I was saying to Arnold was that 99 percent of the champion bodybuilders are born, not made. If a person who wants to be a bodybuilder does not have the genetics to be a champion, then no amount of training - or anything else, for that matter - will ever make him a champion.

Apparently, Arnold did not grasp what I was trying to explain to him. Later, in his speech that night, he challenged the young bodybuilders in the audience who wanted to look like him to apply his training advice. His training advice was the same then as it is now, and is well-documented in his four books, which have been published by Simon & Schuster.

For best results in building your body, Arnold recommended the following:

Perform at least 20 sets for most body parts.

Do high-repetition sets for definition and low-repetition sets for mass.

Adhere to a split routine by concentrating on different parts of your body on different days.

My advice to the audience that night was quite different from Arnold's, and I might add, I delivered it before Arnold spoke. For best bodybuilding results, I noted that you should:

Perform only one or two sets per body part.

Do 8 to 12 repetitions per set for most body parts. Definition is almost entirely related to following a diet to reduce the percentage of subcutaneous fat.

Train the entire body in each workout and rest the entire body the following day. Do not split the routine.

In a nutshell, Arnold was a believer in the long drawn out, four-hours-per-day, six-days-per-week, marathon workouts. My bodybuilding philosophy was dissimilar: brief, high-intensity, 30-minute workouts that are repeated only two or three times per week.

Naturally, Arnold, with his impressive size, titles, and ability to work an audience, had the upper hand. "Who are you going to believe," Arnold said to the audience after his speech, "him?" as he pointed to me and laughed, "or me?" as he flexed his Mr. Olympia arms in a double-biceps pose.

I was no match for Arnold that night and I knew it. Political researchers have known for years that most voters respond to how a candidate looks more than they do to what he says.

Arnold, with his massively developed physique and high-peaked biceps, would be able to sway almost any group of exercise enthusiasts his way. And he did.

Since then I've learned that trying to convince champion bodybuilders of their training failure is next to impossible. Remember: "Nothing fails like success." The champion bodybuilders are generally successful in spite of their training routines and dietary practices, not because of them. With their inherited advantages, almost any type of routine produces results.

On the other hand, the average bodybuilder with average genetic potential (and that pertains to 70 percent of the trainees), requires all the sound, scientific information he can get to make even small gains. The bodybuilder must profit from his past training failures. He must learn from his mistakes.

Of the thousands of young bodybuilders who follow Arnold's recom-mendations, few get satisfactory results. In fact, most fail miserably. Many of them also rationalize by thinking, "If I could have only stayed motivated a little longer, maybe I could have built a body like Arnold's." But it's hard to stay motivated with workouts that must be practiced for four hours a day, six days a week - isn't it?

No, Arnold doesn't tell you about the youngsters who fail dismally with his courses. And neither will you read about it in the popular muscle magazines. But thousands do on a regular basis.

One purpose of this Web site is to explain and show you how to get better results from your bodybuilding. It's for the bodybuilder who instinctively knows that four-hours-per-day workouts are not for him. It's especially for the bodybuilder who is attracted to the brief HIT method. Along the way, I'll refute many of the widely believed myths and superstitions that surround the weight-training arena.

Who knows? Maybe someday I'll get a chance to continue the debate with Arnold. Only this time I'll speak last.

I could not agree more. I bought his book and followed it to a T. I did nothing but lose weight. I am 27 and have been training Dr Darden's way for 4 years and have great results....and my family is happy that I am not at the gym every day for 4 hours. I am glad I became a more intelligent human being and listened to someone with an education and not just anyone with muscles.